🔴 The first METAL SONG ever Tab: www.patreon.com/posts/48949727

This song also inspired John Williams while writing alot of the Star Wars battle music.

"I feel the evil rising, give it to me Susana" - Shred

"Brass is such a metal instrument" Yep, both literally and figuratively.

As a classical player, it’s always cool to see one of these metal guys talk about our stuff and like it. Also, metal heads know way more theory than I’d ever expected. Keep shredding man!!

"Look at that 'stache on the flute player" Next-level orchestration analysis.

Fitting that someone of Finnish descent would be conducting such a powerful piece of early Metal music.

My dad died a month ago , he was 90. I remember him asking me what the deal was with heavy metal. When i showed him a few tunes he said... " Damn , not that i like it , but that sounds a bit like holzt and Wagner". Thank You sir , this is a vídeo My dad would have enjoyed.

Now imagine how awesome it would be if a metal band played it exactly how it's written. It would be a masterpiece.

"Brass is such a metal instrument" - no one can deny that :) This song is actually so heavy, they had to lock the conductor in a cage (3:56)

I played in a philharmonic orchestra when I was in high school and we played all of the planets at the tobin center in San Antonio and I was lucky enough to be the euphonium player who played all the solos. Full crowd of 2k people, one of the best moments of my life.

Absolutely WONDERFUL and passionate breakdown of this composition/performance!!!

Fantastic to see a fellow metalhead who agrees there is plenty of metal in classical music.

SHRED is so entertaining, funny & knowledgeable (super skilled guitarist) I'd watch him all the time if I wasnt busy trying to sell my soul to gain the metal powers that SHRED acquired

love how Nile, used this piece on their Song "Ramses Bringer of War". sounds so fucking evil and epic😍

No wonder we love Black Sabbath and Classical music

I think an important thing that this piece has, that a lot of other dark/heavy sounding classical lacks, is the "riff". That's the most important thing about this piece that makes it sound close to metal. It isn't melodic. It is a lot more based on the repetition of a heavy rhythm. The note choice is simple, but the orchestration is massive. And the simplicity, the repetition, and the emphasis on rhythm and heavy orchestration, is what makes it sound so in-your-face. It also contains dissonant chords that aren't "traditionally tonal". This is also very metal - you play dissonant power chords against a pedal point. The pedal point keeps the tonality stable, but the dissonances aren't really "tonal". A lot of earlier classical music sounds too melodic and tonal to sound like metal, even if some parts do sound massive and dark. It often also lacks the primitive energy that metal music needs. Basically, Bach and Beethoven are a bit too "progressive" and melodic to sound properly metal. (Yes, I know prog metal is a thing, but even prog metal needs some riffs. You just have more riffs, and more contrasts between the riffs, in a prog metal song. If anything, Mars would be a good example of a "prog metal song". Structurally, it's still fairly complex and contains a lot of contrasts. But it also has the simplicity and primitiveness that metal needs.) Metal requires repetition - it needs a riff. Here, the orchestration (heavy use of brass and percussion, and the whole orchestra playing the "riff" in unison), and the fact that it actually has a riff (that isn't very common in classical) are what make it sound heavy in the "metal" kind of way. I guess some sections of The Rite of Spring would also count as "early metal". It has a similar kind of primitive energy as Mars has. Percussive/rhythmic, non-melodic stuff with enough repetition is really important in creating the metal sound.

This piece right here not only created heavy metal, but it is also the inspiration for EVERY action movie score you've ever heard.

Yessss, we need more classical music pieces breakdowns

One could make a compelling argument that Mussorgsky's _Night on Bald Mountain_ from 1867 is the first metal song ever.

Vivaldi Summer is a legit metal song even had some poetry along with it , and it beat this by about 200 years .

I really, really appreciate your videos and breakdowns. As a kid, I loved metal for the music, the riffs (I grew up in the '80s, big-4 era, Maiden, etc.). My dad *hated* metal because he hated the lyrics and amplified guitars and aggression, he bought into the 'satanic panic' fear that was rampant at the time, and as such he forbade me from listening to it, a lot of my tapes got thrown in the trash. I didn't give a shit about the lyrics, my favorite tunes were either those with the coolest licks, the coolest instrumental passages, or were complete instrumentals. 'Orion'? Yes. 'Ktulu'? Yes. 'Mariner'? Yes. Strangely, he loved classical music, his music cabinet had scores of cassettes of all the heavy hitters: the three Bs, Chopin, Mozart, Vivaldi, Handel, Schubert, Stravinsky, the Gershwins, etc. I've been to The Proms at Albert Hall with him. Twice. That's a big deal to people like him who take their classical music seriously. He's dead now, and I wish so badly that that he was around to see videos like these; to see that when you take away the amps and swap out the instruments, metal and classical use the same damn keys, chords, and voicings. I wish 12-year old me had the language to say what was said in these videos, I might have been allowed to keep my tapes. Keep up the good work.

Oh man. I played lead trumpet part for Mars in high school. I'd get so pumped playing this haha especially at 5:51. Guess it's no coincidence that Am I Evil has some of my favorite riffs to play on guitar now - thanks for this one, Shred!

Emerson Lake & Powell cover is pretty metal and it's really amazing all the sounds they put together, it's like an alternate version in it's own and even darker. Great video!

Back in 89, I started working at this place, installing Pipe Organs;. In the shop, sometimes someone would be listening to the radio, usually classical One day this song came on the radio; one of the owners of the company stopped everyone in the room, to listen to this piece, and explained it in a similar manor I'm so glad I found this video/channel Thank you so much!

So many sound tracks for major movies are influenced by this as well.

Vivaldi and Paganini are violin-shredders, change my mind.

2:06 "Dashed by Dissonance" will be the name of my next album... great video! The classical/metal fusion is a great niche for your channel, Shred.

The orchestral song that always puts me in the mood when I'm writing metal is Mahler's 6th Symphony in Am. Awesome vid, btw.

King Crimson played a version at early shows, their second album includes a song based on their cover version.

My favourite metal song is from 1878: Dvořák - Slavonic dance No.1 in C minor: Presto. Finale of this piece is one of the most metal things ever created. And dance No.8 in G minor is also great.

Came here expecting to hear Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D minor, but I'm not disappointed at all.

Shred ,your knowledge of music theory is ridiculously, profoundly, insane! And you always keep it interesting while keeping your horns up !

"Brass is such a metal instrument" I fucking lost it hahahaha

What a great description you gave, it really helped my understanding of this piece.

I was waiting for the conductor to start circle headbanging. This reminds me a lot of the beginning of the movie "The Gladiator"

Gustav Holst the Bringer of METAL

Whole Gustav Holst's "The Planets" is AMAZING.

Hi! very nice to see this type of video to get close classical music to people, i really aprecciate that being a classical violinist an metal guitarist!. In my opinion there's several pieces before Holst works that resembles and have an structure similar to Metal, please see the Grosse Fugue of Beethoven, a string quartet work that in his time was misunderstood, even the people get up of their chairs and leave the room because it was too dissonant for his time. Also listen the last movement of op.131 of Beethoven, pretty heavy stuff with a style like galloping in a horse with rain and thunders haha, aaaand also see some quartets of Bartok, and for the final, you must listen the last movement of the 1st symphony of Gustav Mahler, that movement is soo heavy, even when i have to play it being and orchestra member i was headbanging all the time playing it hahha. Cheers and very nice job!

I really like this format of you analyzing music! What about Bruckner, Wagner, Mahler? They have got some pretty metal stuff as well and they lived even earlier. I mean even Bach did metal except his music lacks the distorted brass sounds. Would be cool if you could show some stuff of these composers as well.

This song INSPIRED the first metal song ever

Michael Romeo also referenced this piece in The Divine Wings of Tragedy. Except in 7/4 instead of 5. I think that song was my first real exposure to it being used in metal.

I've always felt like classical epics were in the same realm of enjoyment as metal. There's so much sonic information coming at you, harmonics everywhere, massive sound, polyrhythms, power chords, tritones, ect ect ect

Reminds me of the theme from Star Trek VI “The Undiscovered Country.”

Yes! Wagner is another of my favorite composers. His pieces were also very heavy metal. Even in the way he would arrange his Orchestra was very different from other composers. I think Holst got a lot of his style from Wagner. Holst and Wagner are my two all time favorite composers.

The whole Holst opera or "album" talk about each planet of the solar system which is a pure masterpiece in its integrity! Feast your ears!

Just found your channel today. Funny as well as educational. Good stuff.

GREAT!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH, SHRED!! YOUR VIDEOS ABOUT METAL AND CLASSICAL MUSIC ARE SO INTERESTING!! WAITING FOR THE NEXT VIDEO... GREETINGS FROM ITALY!!! CIAO 🙂🎵

Fun fact: the first 10 seconds of Fear Factory's song Self Bias Resistor has a Mars influence.

"The bone players are going to give it a spin" 1:46 in and already worth it.

Other early metal songs: Ride of the Valkyries, Night on Bald Mountain, In the Hall of the Mountain King

The melodies at 5:53 and 8:30 of this peace is what John Williams used as the inspiration for the 'Imperial March' soundtrack. Lucas originally wanted to use The Planets as the Star Wars soundtrack then had Williams write pieces inspired by it.

I here some Ride the Lightning "Flash before my eyes" melody at around 3:06, great use.

While not as old, but equally badass, check out Riders of Doom by Basil Poledouris.

Black Sabbath during the Tyr tour would have this song on playback during Cozy Powell's drum solo, he would drum to it, they would then go into Odin's Court, The Sabbath Stones or Sign Of The Southern Cross.

This is the best channel. Thank Apollo I found it!

1:50 Brass is such a "metal" (copper & zinc alloy) instrument So true!! Sorry, I had to laugh! Keep up the good work!!

Brass is indeed a strong component. Hearing a live brass section can be akin to standing in front of a MArshal stack. Bands like Chicago and Blood Sweat and Tears had incredible stage sound particularly in the late 60s and early 70s because of their effective horn sections. Joe Jackson used horns to great effect on Body and Soul and, again, the live shows were dynamic masterpieces with a great balance of guitar, bass, and drums. Many guitarists don't see the value in horn sections or appreciate the arrangement process for them. That's very unfortunate.

There is a part that reminds me of the "Flash before my eyes" part of Ride the Lighting too. It starts at the 2:59 mark of your video. It isn't exact by any means but the phrasing and beginning intervals are very similar to me. Love your vids!! I'll be a Patreon subscriber by tonight! I wasn't using my soul anyway. ha!

Holt's The Planets has been my favourite piece of classic since I was a kid. Mars and Jupiter, especially. Canadian power trio Triumph was inspired by Mars for their intro to The City.

Lol “ look at the stasch on that flute player! Now feel the evil rising! Give it to me susan!!” Best quote of all time

🤘love the way you analyzed and made commentary on that piece. dude, rockers are SO much deeper, realer, and intellectual then any other genre of music produces. why are ppl always judging us in a negative light?

The comedic aspect of your videos is under-appreciated. You’re naturally very funny, there isn’t a video of yours that doesn’t make me laugh

Thanks Shred! Brilliant, as always.

Amazing and funny, I mean evil, as always 💪 Scythian Suite as a next classical metal piece, please!

Classical Music is filled with "Metal" Composers and Phrasing, Paganini and Beethoven and even Mozart. 12 Notes and over a 1000 years of Music theory. More then enough for any mind to get "Consumed By" Bwhaaaaaa!!!!!!

1:13 "Oh! Susanna Oh! won't you shred for me For I come from ole Valhalla With my guitar on my knee"

1:19 what you’re hearing here is the intro for Black Sabbath - Under The Sun

Stravinsky: Rite of Spring sounds like some metal too.

Honestly, I picture an epic battle from Star Wars with this score.

That was an instant sub, thanks for introducing Gustav Holt's music to a broader audience.

Dude I think you’ve taken over as my favorite youtuber. It used to be Ola but more and more I’m finding I’m all over your channel.

I can't get over how deliciously evil Shred is.

Analysing Brahms Hungarian Dance Number 1 in Belphegor's In Blood - Devour This Sanctity would be cool.

Serious fuckin' business, I love your commentary - "Look at that stache on the flute player" haha metal af

I love Holst's work, and I love this channel. To have a mashing up of both was exquisite. Thank you. Shred.

Please do a video on Basil Poledouris. He is so savage. His Conan sound track is especially memorable. I often use it as my workout soundtrack- it inspires both my arm thews and my ear thews.

first metal song Moonlight Sonata from Beethoven? :D Stay Evil my friends.

I fucking LOVE the way you dive into this piece!

Suggestions: Franz Liszt 'Totentanz': Dance of the Dead Liszt: Sonata in B Minor (he basically wrote this while dying) Chopin: finale of Funeral March. Anton Rubinstein called it the "wind howling around the gravestones" This is just off the top of my head, there's a lot of dark and morbid classical music (Schubert also comes to mind).

It would be cool if you analyzed War Pigs by Black Sabbath🤘

Vivaldi's the OG metalhead by centuries, but I have a soft spot for Stravinsky's stuff as well it's so amazing ughh

Its literally impossible for me to not get the chills when those tritone hits come in at the end and Ive listened to this song a million times before

French horn player here: playing anything by Holst was a gift from the heavens because of how fun the parts are to play

Hans Zimmer has a lot from this in Gladiator soundtrack Battle Theme

At about 4:30 during the triads it reminded me of John Williams in a number of Star Wars songs. Oh hell you can feel how John was influenced through out this piece actually. The river stix indeed..... Most Metal indeed! Death Metal Walrus says sell your soul to Shred! 🤟🤟🤟🤟 Death Metal Pig says you suck if you don't! Shred till your Dead! ☠☠☠

Thank you, first vid from your channel that I've seen. I've enjoyed watching classical folk tearing down rock music. Doing it the other way is just as awesome. I think the crossover is how powerful and emotive both types of music are. No elevator or onhold because "your call matters to us" nonsense. BTW the 1812 overture is quite a concept piece worth a listen.

Love your channel. This was awesome :)

I dunno, I think Beethoven's 5th is pretty metal and "was released" way before Mars.

you should do a video on toccata and fugue in d minor

Awesome. Verdi's 'Dies Irae' from his Requiem is enormous metal. Just incredible. Also, I still think Bartok's string quartets were some of the first truly ' metal as we know it ' compositions. They chug hard. Love the channel. 666 XXX

That's a beautiful piece of music. Thanks for introduction!

In other words you should totally analyze one of Rachmaninoff’s work because he was definitely a pioneer for some metal out there

More orchestra analisis please!!

Thank you sir!! I had no clue this was the one that started it all ..it's amazing how much metal has branched out in so many genres and sub-geners and is ever evolving like no other

Shred, you're knowledge on music theory is amazing. Its incredible how metal heads care so much about the music, where it comes and the theory behind it.

Penderecki’s Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima, possibly the first death metal song

Please do Bach's incredible Prelude and Fugue in D minor &/or the Prelude & Fugue in D dorian. There's so much metal there! 🙏 (You do an amazing work! Most underrated channel on YT 👍👍👍)

Best commentary I've ever heard, truly

Agreed. This is one of my favorite concerts peices ever.